P-Noy's first SONA
The Filipinos had mixed reactions last Monday when they heard President Noynoy Aquino’s first public address after his Inauguration. What was reported to be a surprise turned out to be, a real surprise, from the customary public speech that was the barometer for all heads of state, or republic, in this matter.
P-Noy’s first State Of the Nation Address, personally, is tolerable. After all, that is why it is called STATE of the NATION, not some chimera of hope and promise of fulfillment as a response to a concerning issue coming from a letter full of grievances from the underprivileged Filipinos.
P-Noy positively identified the problems that the entire Filipino faced coming from a 9-year administration presided over false conditions of economic development, governance, and political stability. This time the problems that beset the entire Filipino was not written on a piece of paper and sent as a miraculous “paper boat”. The problem is the government itself, and this time, there is actually no paper to hold as evidence from all those problems created by P-Noy’s predecessor.
Sometimes, in solving a problem, one must properly identify the problem first. P-Noy’s SONA is the first that I know of that made an admission that there were traces of mis-governance, although in a very low-security risk of manner by keeping the names of the involved confidential. P-Noy may have omitted names, but he certainly did enumerate some of the reasons why there was a low perception of public trust in the previous government. He certainly did not have a definite plan to correct those problems, but he at least did not make empty promises. There was no concrete development plan for the country in his SONA since he probably believes that finding a solution to all the problems he inherited would have his hands full.
So what if his SONA lacks substance? It is outright better than the entire fictional novel blurted over the past nine years, which when compiled, could perhaps rival the Harry Potter or Twilight series in terms of fantastical embellishments.
I too, was disappointed with the over-all content of his first SONA but I admire his ingenuity for eliminating the Filipino people’s extremely high dependence for the government to do all the work. Less promises, less expectations. Therefore, there would be minimal disappointments on the point in time when the entire country will judge P-Noy on his failures and achievements.
It’s about time that the people should not rely too much on the government to work for them. That’s what the previous administration did. Now, who’s got the majority of the pie’s share – the taxpayers’ money? One province received 105 million calamity budget allocations for 3 million worth of damage from a typhoon that did not directly hit it, while the other province which was hardest hit was allocated 5 million for 6 million worth of estimated damages.
Perhaps P-Noy knows that putting concrete proposals at this moment might not be a good idea. After all, those problems he enumerated might just be the tip of the iceberg. He never mentioned any 6-year economic agenda or something like a Millennium Development Plan or a 2015 goal. At least he was honest enough not to reach for the moon, the stars, and the sky. Perhaps he wants us to think that before we can fly, we need to fix our wings.
P-Noy’s first State Of the Nation Address, personally, is tolerable. After all, that is why it is called STATE of the NATION, not some chimera of hope and promise of fulfillment as a response to a concerning issue coming from a letter full of grievances from the underprivileged Filipinos.
P-Noy positively identified the problems that the entire Filipino faced coming from a 9-year administration presided over false conditions of economic development, governance, and political stability. This time the problems that beset the entire Filipino was not written on a piece of paper and sent as a miraculous “paper boat”. The problem is the government itself, and this time, there is actually no paper to hold as evidence from all those problems created by P-Noy’s predecessor.
Sometimes, in solving a problem, one must properly identify the problem first. P-Noy’s SONA is the first that I know of that made an admission that there were traces of mis-governance, although in a very low-security risk of manner by keeping the names of the involved confidential. P-Noy may have omitted names, but he certainly did enumerate some of the reasons why there was a low perception of public trust in the previous government. He certainly did not have a definite plan to correct those problems, but he at least did not make empty promises. There was no concrete development plan for the country in his SONA since he probably believes that finding a solution to all the problems he inherited would have his hands full.
So what if his SONA lacks substance? It is outright better than the entire fictional novel blurted over the past nine years, which when compiled, could perhaps rival the Harry Potter or Twilight series in terms of fantastical embellishments.
I too, was disappointed with the over-all content of his first SONA but I admire his ingenuity for eliminating the Filipino people’s extremely high dependence for the government to do all the work. Less promises, less expectations. Therefore, there would be minimal disappointments on the point in time when the entire country will judge P-Noy on his failures and achievements.
It’s about time that the people should not rely too much on the government to work for them. That’s what the previous administration did. Now, who’s got the majority of the pie’s share – the taxpayers’ money? One province received 105 million calamity budget allocations for 3 million worth of damage from a typhoon that did not directly hit it, while the other province which was hardest hit was allocated 5 million for 6 million worth of estimated damages.
Perhaps P-Noy knows that putting concrete proposals at this moment might not be a good idea. After all, those problems he enumerated might just be the tip of the iceberg. He never mentioned any 6-year economic agenda or something like a Millennium Development Plan or a 2015 goal. At least he was honest enough not to reach for the moon, the stars, and the sky. Perhaps he wants us to think that before we can fly, we need to fix our wings.
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